The Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund has called for prudent utilisation of resources allocated to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund).
Chairman of the Committee, Sen. Muntari Dandutse made the call at a retreat organised by NELFund in partnership with the Senate Committee in Abuja on Monday.
The retreat has as its theme “NELFund and the Future: Pathway to Sustainability”.
Dandutse said that for NELFund to meet and exceed expectations, sustainability must remain at the forefront of its agenda.
“Sustainability here entails financial prudence, policy integrity, innovative partnerships and a commitment to continuous improvement.
“We must establish and strengthen mechanisms that ensure accountability and prudent utilisation of resources.
“Let us explore practical ways to harness data to identify priority needs, allocate funds efficiently and measure the impact of every naira disbursed.
“Innovation must guide our approach to loan disbursement, collection and even in building financial literacy among students.
“Our partnerships with private sector stakeholders, development partners and relevant government agencies will play a crucial role in scaling our impact,” he said.
The chairman assured of the committee’s continued commitment to policies and frameworks that would promote sustainability, innovation and equity in education financing.
Meanwhile, Dr Sunday Oluyemi of Qonsults Limited, who presented a paper on “Imperatives and Comparative Studies on Student Loan Schemes and Policies”, said that student loans were essential to improving access to higher education.
Oluyemi said it was also essential in supporting students who otherwise might not be able to afford tertiary education.
He noted that there were challenges in implementing such loans which included limited government budgets, adding that such could restrict the availability and sustainability of loans.
He further said that nations with more accessible educational funding report higher levels of skilled workers which contributed directly to economic growth and innovation.
